Malden legislative delegation secures $925k for numerous local priorities

Special to The Advocate

State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representatives Paul Donato, Steve Ultrino and Kate Lipper-Garabedian were pleased to announce that they have secured $925,000 for various local priorities in Malden as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Massachusetts state budget. That budget, which totals $58 billion, received final passage by the House of Representatives and Senate on July 19, 2024, and was signed into law by Governor Maura Healey on July 29, 2024. This budget delivers significant levels of investment in early education and childcare, K-12 public schools, public higher education, housing, healthcare, transportation, workforce development, and more, as part of a comprehensive strategy to make Massachusetts more affordable and equitable for all.

Within the budget, Senator Lewis and Representatives Donato, Ultrino, and Lipper-Garabedian secured funding for the following Malden local priorities:

• $100,000 for flood mitigation, including the maintenance and cleaning of the Townline and Linden Brook culverts
• $100,000 for accessibility improvements to the Forestdale School playground
• $60,000 for Urban Media Arts to make repairs to their ceiling, insulation and fireproofing
• $50,000 to construct a shelter at the bike kitchen on the Northern Strand Community Trail
• $40,000 to update equipment and amenities at The Bridge Recovery Center
• $200,000 for Triangle’s School-to-Career program, which connects students with disabilities to services designed to enhance their job and career opportunities
• $150,000 for Portal To Hope for a community-based domestic violence program, including a “Teens-at-Risk” project
• $100,000 for the homeless children program of Housing Families Inc. (HFI)
• $50,000 for HFI to purchase transport vans for their street outreach program
• $75,000 for the mobile homeless outreach team of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD)

“This budget will deliver substantial resources to our communities, and make our state more affordable for working families by helping to address the high costs of housing, healthcare, childcare, and college,” said Senator Lewis. “I’m especially pleased that Representatives Donato, Ultrino, and Lipper-Garabedian and I were able to also secure funding for some important local Malden priorities.”

“I am grateful for the successful collaboration with my colleagues, Senator Lewis and Representatives Ultrino and Lipper-Garabedian, in securing essential funding for Malden,” said Representative Donato. “I am especially thrilled to see the funding towards early education, childcare, and public schools. I believe these funds will continue to enhance our community and make Malden a city of opportunity for all individuals and families.”

“The FY25 budget is a reflection of the legislature’s goals to empower and invest in our communities to build a stronger Commonwealth. I am especially pleased to see the increased investments in education to ensure high-quality education is accessible to all,” said  Representative Ultrino. “The budget allocates funding to special projects in Malden from housing to infrastructure. I would like to thank my colleagues Representative Donato, Representative Lipper-Garabedian, and Senator Lewis for their continued work in securing key funding for Malden.”

“I am proud to have joined Representatives Donato and Ultrino, along with Senator Lewis, to secure $925,000 in earmarks for the City of Malden and community partners,” said Representative Lipper-Garabedian. “This funding for Malden will be directed to the areas of housing security, public safety, and infrastructure. Additionally, among the many critical and responsive statewide investments in the budget, I am thrilled to see historic funding in early education and childcare as well as critical policy reforms like making the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) direct-to-provider grants permanent, a top priority for which I advocated.”